AiM is a Verb, NOT a NOUN !!! ~ David Hill - Choctaw from Oklahoma

AIM is a Verb, Not a Noun
by David Hill

Halito!

Hello there, if you haven’t had enough here we go again.

It has come to my attention from various friends and contacts that there is a lot of controversy
on the internet and elsewhere I suppose, about who is AIM and who is not, who is sanctioned
and who is not.

I ask for just a bit of your time to express a point of view from inside the Movement.

To begin with, I would like to say the American Indian Movement is a verb, not a noun.

It is my firm belief that the Movement started in 1492 with the first mistreatment
of indigenous people by Columbus and his entourage.

The Movement is an expression of desperation of our people.

The Movement has people on all levels of involvement and it encompasses all our people.

As an old saying goes, “You’re either going forward or backward; nobody stands still.”

Having said that, I recognize and respect the people of the different factions and chapters
and enclaves of AIM people.

Describing AIM is like the old story of four blind men describing an elephant.

I believe it is a Buddhist story... it all depends on where one is standing
and the moral of the story is that one person’s perception may not be that of another.

I clearly remember ceremonies at the BIA building preceding the Custer riot,
prior to a lot of the things that happened at Wounded Knee,
prior to all the things that happened at Sioux Falls,
and the many other places where there was the potential for extreme harm
and possibly death.

I can remember prayers and the talks we had, the stories we shared by people
who had been mistreated, and most of all I can remember the commitment of people
who were willing to die to make a difference for the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

I remember watching the We Shall Remain series or parts of it, showing Crow Dog
putting some paint on some people.

That was a ceremony where the people who committed to fight to the death gave their pledge.

To me that was a manifestation of the desperation of our people.

That was the Movement of our people attempting to make a change for the future for our people
a change that would bring the right to have Native American entrepreneurs and businesses,
and further the sovereignty that was guaranteed to us by treaty.

Back in the 70’s and probably even before that, there were bumper stickers that said,
“Sovereignty and Brotherhood” and a lot of other clichés I guess that identified some of our attitude
about the struggles of our people.

Everywhere I look I can see those successes: businesses on reservations, increased availability of resources for our people.

However, the struggle is still here.

We are still the poorest group in America.

Still the highest level of suicide rates, 2 and 3 times the national average for adults,
4 and 5 times the national rate for youth in some areas, some even higher than that.

Our sovereignty is still not won, it is a continuing struggle;
the Lakota still embroiled in a struggle to regain their Black Hills;
the Choctaw and Chickasaw embroiled in a law suit struggle to retain their water rights
for various lakes in their areas.

The Six Nations have forever been involved in retaining their rights trying to reclaim
their lands and most tribes throughout America are continually at odds with the states
that surround their respective areas.

We still, in most of those areas, have the highest prison population per capita.

Our youth are 3 times more adjudicated as adults and stand trial as such.

The list goes on and on.

There will always be a need for the American Indian Movement because of the way
people who came here from other lands seek wealth and take more than they need.

These things I just spoke of are views that are shared by all Movement people
throughout the Americas, which includes North, South and Central America.

Being a member of the American Indian Movement isn’t something that requires sewing a patch on your jacket or placing a poster on your wall, or a document in a frame.

It is a place in your heart and a commitment of your spirit to make a difference.

And when you do you will in your own way represent the Movement of our people that started in 1492.

The Movement of our people in South America that died fighting the exploitation of their forests.

The Movement of our people fighting for their lands in the east and the west and in the north,
our people who fought against Pizarro, the ones who fought against Ponce de Leon, De Soto
and Custer and a host of others who have killed our people;

and... I should not forget the ones who gave out poison blankets.

Those were just a small handful of names from the past; there were many, many, many, more.

We must take notice that these types of enemies of our people still exist.

There are people who would like to do away with all our sovereign rights, all our reservations,
all our programs… and relegate us to cleaning their pools, mowing their lawns,
and picking their vegetables.

We as a people have made great gains in the last 30 something years,
however the enemies of our people are still strong, and their commitment is still the same.

We need to keep our commitment the same.

When we run out of enemies then we can afford to argue among ourselves
about who is AIM and who is not.

It is a continuing ploy of armies and governments to divide and conquer.

In the book The Art of War, by Lao Tzu, a main theme is the concept of 'destroy the infrastructure
or gain control of it.' If we start accepting federal aid as AIM people, if we start running to their police programs to turn each other in or against each other, then we strengthen their hold over us.

You cannot talk of sovereignty then ask the ones who would take that away to solve your problems
or to dispense their level of justice on our people.

We have the capacity to solve our own problems;
we have the capacity to met out justice within our own culture.

When we seek approval of our enemy and turn against one another, then we lose for sure.

There are individuals past and present who have served as scouts for our enemies.

That is a sad thing.

There are people past and present among our ranks who have sought to denigrate
the efforts of Movement people and to discredit Movement people,
especially those who were overtly active and difficult for the enemy to control.

For the American Indian Movement people our value system for the most part is tied
to our cultural values and our relationship to the earth.

One of the greatest things I’ve seen happen as a result of the American Indian Movement
has been the recognition by the world that our prophecies are coming true
regarding the earth and nature, our greatest manifestation of the Creator we have to relate to.

It has been my observation that a lot of religious leaders want to relegate God or the Creator
to the supernatural and totally ignore the natural magic of the Creator all around us.

The magic of the sun coming up every morning, or a tree, or a flower,
or a deer running across the road, or any measure of existence that is all around us
represents the handy work of the Creator.

I believe this happens because they want to exploit these things.

It seems to come from some land somewhere where everyone wants to be a king
and rule over someone else.

The whole concept of freedom and democracy comes from our land,
the confederacy of the Six Nation Iroquois law, the Constitution of the United States,
the belief that every person has a right to do what they want as long as they don’t hurt
someone else in the process, and so long as they don’t destroy the common things
that the Creator imbued us with: the right to enjoy the earth and nature.

These things I’ve just mentioned are what we talk about in Movement circles,
in sweat lodges, at sun dances and a host of other ceremonies we take part in.

These things are the essence of the Movement.

I can tell you one thing for sure. If you stand strong in the circles of the Movement,
some or someone will no doubt condemn you and they will seek to render you
as ineffective as possible.

When you hear one of these stories about somebody, it might be worth your while
to investigate the claims of the accuser and also the motives of the accuser.

I know none of our people are perfect, anyone knows that.

Nor is anyone else.

We are all human, with all the positive and negative things that make up our life.

But standing together in every way we can, seeking to identify the things we have in common,
and working out the things we disagree on, will serve us much better than wasting our time
on name calling.

We are all children of the Creator and for you that are parents,
think how disheartening it is when your children quarrel with one another.

I can tell you for sure there’s enough work to go around.

I want to say I deeply respect and feel honored to have worked at different times
with all the different people in the Movement that I have met.

And always remember something one person said one time,
I can’t remember exactly who said it...

"We are like a large family; we don’t always get along but we are still family.
Throughout the North Central and South Americas we are one people.
We may have somewhat different languages and cultures,
but we are still one people with one enemy:
those who would take more than they need."

In closing, I always remember when a young friend of mine,
when asked if he was AIM, said “Aiee I Am!”

Whether you agree with me or not, I do hope in some way it might help you resolve some of your differences because we need each other and that is a fact.

The world needs American Indian people and our culture
and our view of how to live upon this earth.

Think about it, pray about it, go to a sweat, or to one of our ceremonies,
find some way to work together.

I remember at one sweat lodge on the barn next to the sweat lodge someone had written,
“It ain’t all about you, it’s about our people.”

We have a rich heritage, a rich culture and at one time, this was the richest land
on the face of this earth. And I’m not talking about money,

I’m talking about a relationship with the Earth and the resources the Creator gave us.

May the Great Spirit bless you with the things you need and may you enjoy the life
you have and know fulfillment in doing what’s right and righting what’s wrong.

• Your brother in the movement,
  David Hill
  Choctaw from Oklahoma